Nov 21st, 2008 - Guns N' Roses / Chinese Democracy
You know Chinese Democracy will get slammed no matter what so don't bother comparing this to the past. This is Axl Rose trying to stay relevant in a world that has moved on. It's nu-metal, with mid 90s riffs, motif changes and Axl's wail. It's not superb, but it doesn't suck either. I still can't figure it out. I'm confused yet relieved. I listened to it 4 times. I think I'll buy it for the album cover.

Nov 18th, 2008 - Dido / Safe Trip Home
Five years is a long time in between albums, but Dido is finally back with her third album, Safe Trip Home. I wasn't expecting anything groundbreaking or new in her sound. But I don't think her fans want that. And that's what we got, as lead single Don't Believe In Love shows. The Day Before The Day, Quiet Times and Northern Skies are good too. Check out the promo site for the album.

Nov 16th, 2008 - The King Of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match
Kenfoo just got me curious about KOF 2002 Unlimited Match. I know this was announced at TGS '08, but I guess SFIV and KOF XII are the ones getting the media attention now. Slated for a 2009 PS2 release, the character roster looks insane. They should release this in the arcades! It'll be way crazier than KOF 98 UM.

Nov 12th, 2008 - Beatmania IIDX 15: DJ Troopers CS
According to this page, it seems Beatmania IIDX 15: DJ Troopers is coming to the PS2 in about a month. And I thought Gold just came out a few months ago. Oh, right. It did! Barring any delays, Konami is really pushing Bemani products out fast, with Empress about to be launched and all.

Nov 7th, 2008 - Liquid City: Volume One
Sonny Liew's anthology of SE Asian works, Liquid City, is out now! I have a tiny 10-page story about a tree that will make sense in the future. But please get the book for the works from Lat, Sonny himself, Kenfoo, FSC and Lefty, among many others. They're beautiful. You can find it at Books Kinokuniya here in Singapore. Overseas viewers, please check with a major bookstore in your area.

Nov 5th, 2008 - DrearyWeary.com / The 1 Year Mark
Can you believe it? This site is still here after a year. And in between days, we seem to have collected quite a lot of stuff, be it doodles or user activity on the boards and comment slots. There's no party or whatever, so don't cry if you want to, cry if you want to. Would you cry too if it happened to you? That's a good song. I wonder where we'll all be in another year...?

Nov 3rd, 2008 - Bounce Shot
Do you miss playing flash games on Monday at work? Well, the folks at Nigoro.jp have a new game. It's called Bounce Shot. It's actually Space Invaders but your shots bounce off the sides of the screen! So don't get killed by your own bullets. Use your mouse to move and shoot while collecting power ups to increase your bullet stock. What's the highest stage you can reach?

Nov 2nd, 2008 - Razing Storm
Location testing is currently going on for Namco's upcoming light IR gun game, Razing Storm. The official website is up and from the looks of it, I can't wait to play this when it hits our shores in early 2009. It features a pedal for hiding like Time Crisis, but single screen 2P play. Plus it runs on the System 357 board meaning a PS3 port is likely.

Oct 31st, 2008 - Chairlift / Does You Inspire You
My buddies in NYC recently sent me some tracks from Chairlift, a Brooklyn based trio pushing music like MGMT, but more along electro-quirky-pop lines. Their album Does You Inspire You is out now. It's worth a listen if you can find it. And don't discount their sound even though everything seems to exude a retro revival. Bruises is such a great song. That's why Apple uses it on IPod ads.

Oct 29th, 2008 - Otomedius e-Amusement End
Further confirming that "nobody plays shooters theses days anymore", Virtualand is ceasing e-Amusement connectivity for Otomedius on Nov 1. Offline play is still available I assume, but what's the point when you can't level up or play versus mode. So all you SG Otomedius fans out there, let's get in our last credits. On a side note, the XBox 360 version comes out on Nov 20.

Oct 27th, 2008
Here's wishing all Indian visitors a Happy Deepavali!

Oct 26th, 2008 - The Cure / 4:13 Dream
This totally caught me off guard. I have not been following The Cure ever since their 1996 release of Wild Mood Swings. And now 4:13 Dream pops up, indulging in all things that make Pornography a great listen. This has goth post-rock, flanger lullabies, psychedelic pop and even electro-metal. They have the entire album on their myspace. So go.

Oct 24th, 2008 - X08 @ Marina Square
Microsoft's X08 XBox Experience just started today at Marina Square and it runs through Sunday (26th). Apparently, Lara Croft will make an appearance this evening, together with Electrico doing some Guitar Hero World Tour antics. I went this morning and got some flyers from some XBox lians. Sadly, all the games I want for the 360 are not games that show up at these events.

Oct 23rdth, 2008 - Chinese Democracy Akan Datang!
Guns N' Roses (aka Axl Rose) will release Chinese Democracy in exactly one month's time, the album that took more than $13 million and 14 years to complete. There are already haters out there that denounce the band. The title track on their site is indeed different. But I kinda like it. Wouldn't it be awesome if the album is actually decent? I'm eagerly waiting for it, shit or not.